Tamil film personalities condemn Mansoor Ali Khan's vulgar comments

Actor-politician Mansoor Ali Khan's recent comments on his Leo co-star Trisha and fellow actor-politicians Khushbu and Roja have created a furore. In a widely circulated video, Mansoor, known for his roles as an antagonist, spoke about the changing times and how he wasn't getting characters that allowed him to misbehave with characters played by these actors. “They do not allow us to rape (in recent films). When I came to know that I would be acting with Trisha, I thought there would be some bedroom scenes. I have shot many such scenes with the likes of Khushbu and Roja in my earlier films," said Mansoor.

Trisha took to her social media accounts to register her anger about the comments by Mansoor. She wrote, “A recent video has come to my notice where Mr. Mansoor Ali Khan has spoken about me in a vile and disgusting manner. I strongly condemn this and find it sexist, disrespectful, misogynistic, repulsive, and in bad taste. He can keep wishing but I am grateful never to have shared screen space with someone as pathetic as him and I will make sure it never happens for the rest of my film career as well. People like him bring a bad name to mankind.”

She received overwhelming support on social media from not just fans and followers but celebrities too, including her Leo director Lokesh Kanagaraj, filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj, and singer Chinmayi.

Khushbu, a member of the National Commission for Women, too minced no words in calling out the crass comments by the actor-filmmaker. She said, "As a member of NCW, I have already taken up the issue of Mansoor Ali Khan with my senior and will be taking action on it. Nobody can get away with such a filthy mind. When we are fighting tooth and nail to protect women and bring dignity to them, such men are a blot in our society." These sentiments were echoed by actor-politician Roja, who said, "Whenever men speak against women, strong legal and police action should take place. If empowered women like us in politics and cinema get targeted, imagine the other women who come in contact with these men?"

Taking cognisance of his words, the apex association for Tamil cinema actors, South Indian Nadigar Sangam, released a statement condemning Mansoor. In the statement, it pointed out that given that women actors are still facing difficulties in the film industry, such comments are definitely not appreciated. The association also urged the actor to apologise right away, and cautioned that stringent actions would be taken against him if he failed to do so.

Meanwhile, responding to the outrage, Mansoor shared a long note, explaining his side of things. He shared how this is an attack against him right before his film's release, and ahead of the upcoming elections. He called his statement "a funny way to express my disappointment in not getting the opportunity to share screen space with Trisha in Leo." He also claimed that the interview was edited out of context and shared on social media, just to create controversy. He concluded the note by saying that he has always respected his co-actors and asked people to focus on more important issues than this.